Lenovo Announces Winning Film in “Seize the Night” Student Filmmaker Competition

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lenovo (HKSE: 0992) (Pink Sheets: LNVGY), the world’s #2 PC maker, and Ideas United, the creators of Campus MovieFest (CMF), today announced that Joshua Lipworth and Megan Laws from University College London won first place for their film “Critical Mass” in the Seize the Night Alternate Ending Competition. Josh and Megan’s film amassed more than 50,000 views, the most views online out of 15 videos, entitling Josh and Megan to a $15,000 cash prize.

“We were delighted to see the terrific results these young filmmakers achieved with just a Lenovo Ultrabook, a small production budget, a lot of hard work and their unbridled imaginations”

“We were delighted to see the terrific results these young filmmakers achieved with just a Lenovo Ultrabook, a small production budget, a lot of hard work and their unbridled imaginations,” said David Roman, chief marketing officer, Lenovo. “We congratulate all these "doers" using technology to do extraordinary things."

Lenovo this fall empowered 15 teams of top young filmmakers around the globe to create authentic, high-quality alternate endings to the acclaimed “Seize the Night” ad in support of the company’s Ultrabook PC campaign. The filmmakers then promoted their videos – securing hundreds of thousands of views in attempts to win $20,000 to pursue their filmmaking careers.

Josh and Megan capitalized on the massive worldwide bicycle culture and showcased the beauty of London as a large group of people meet up for a nighttime ride through the city. Josh said, “Lenovo’s Seize the Night competition has shown us that when you give people the right opportunities, they can create some truly outstanding work. The whole notion behind Lenovo’s Ultrabook is very empowering, and throughout this competition we’ve come to see Lenovo as a brand that is devoted to turning ideas into concrete reality.” Josh and Megan plan on taking their team out to a very nice dinner and dedicating the rest of their earnings to creating more videos and films together.

Runners-up prizes included:

2^nd Place ($2,500): “Tonight’s The Night” by Adam LaPrade, a graduate from the University of Central Florida. Adam’s alternate ending incorporated the intrigue from the original Lenovo ad while finishing with a sweet, surprise twist.
3^rd Place ($1,500): “Do” by Xavier Burgin, a graduate from the University of Alabama, and current student at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Xavier’s video took Lenovo’s motto “For Those Who Do” to the next level, encouraging everyone to take action to make a difference.
4^th Place ($1,000): “Fire In The Sky” by Shannon Schnittker, a graduate from USC. Shannon’s video was shot in Japan, New Zealand, and with a little movie magic, outer space, celebrating those who do with fun and vivid imagery.

“All of us at Ideas United are thrilled to congratulate today’s winners, along with all the participating filmmakers,” added David Roemer, CEO of Ideas United. “We know this won’t be the last that the world sees of these filmmakers and their creations, and we want to again thank Lenovo for its support to share these stories.”

People can continue to watch all 15 alternate endings, plus explore the complete list of participants, filmmaker bios and behind the scenes footage online at http://www.campusmoviefest.com/lenovo.

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 0992) (Pink Sheets: LNVGY) is a $US30 billion personal technology company – and the second largest PC company in the world, serving customers in more than 160 countries.

Dedicated to building exceptionally engineered PCs and mobile internet devices, Lenovo’s business is built on product innovation, a highly-efficient global supply chain and strong strategic execution. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services. Its product lines include legendary Think-branded commercial PCs and Idea-branded consumer PCs, as well as servers, workstations, and a family of mobile internet devices, including tablets and smart phones. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information, see www.lenovo.com.

About Ideas United and Campus MovieFest

Ideas United began 11 years ago when four students at Emory University created Campus MovieFest (CMF), which has since become the world’s largest student film festival. CMF offers equipment and training to students at participating campuses to create their own five-minute movies in a week all for free. Over 500,000 students have shared their stories, earning over $2 million in prizing and seeing their films on big screens around the globe, at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, and on millions of smaller screens – including in-flight, on television, and online. Tapping into this pool of talented young filmmakers, IU created its Distinguished Filmmakers Network and launched IU Productions to provide paid, professional opportunities to its filmmakers, and to provide high-quality, authentic content to its partners. Find out more at www.iuproductions.com.